


An Echo of Eternity

by commander_connivingcat



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, OC Watcher - Freeform, Ranger Watcher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 16:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18502786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commander_connivingcat/pseuds/commander_connivingcat
Summary: The tales and tribulations of Watcher Echo and her companions! A mixed elf from a troubled background in the Deadfire, wandering the world with her companion wolf, Kai.A kind heart becomes her best vengeance.





	1. The Path Forward

**Author's Note:**

> This is my personal Watcher, Echo. This fanfic is to detail her thoughts, background, and details in interactions that were left out of the games. Some events that are covered well enough by the games may be merely glossed over.

Welcome, child, to one of my many secret tales. This tale is reserved for a special few, the few who both witness and participate in the birth of a new Eora. It is for the many lost and the many more who are never found.  
Within this tale, like any great tale, lies power. But this power is not for you, no, it is a power that resides within and, if she so chooses, belongs to one interesting woman.  
Drifting, listless, unloved, and ungrateful she wanders. A ranger without a path, a cipher without charm. A helping rain who disappears as fast as she appeared.  
She is seemingly blessed by the gods in the worst ways: Galawain’s hunter with too much of Hylea’s love and my gift of secrecy. Always wanting to help but never trusted, so she is abandoned before she can find her way.  
This seemingly invisible soul has caught the attention of fate, though.  
So, what happens when the souls won’t forget her? When her path is forced to intersect with that of others?  
You, my lucky child, are about to bear witness to a woman’s might and a Watcher’s power as the tale grows from the seeds of fate.

The heat of summer was waning as the smell of autumn tinged the air. The apple trees lining the farms would soon bear their sweet fruits like a wax seal of their seasonal work. A cloaked wood elf had climbed one of these trees and was crouched on a sturdy branch. An adult wolf stood at the base of the tree, barking.

The elf was as much a mutt as the wolf. She was a wood elf by clan, but she had pale elf features. Her skin was extremely light for a wood elf, but too dark for a pale elf, her hair was far too blond to easily blend into a forest, and her blue eyes looked more like ice than earth. She typically kept her features hidden under a black cloak and hood to avoid attention.

“Fine, I’ll get you one too,” the elf said as she plucked two apples from the tree. She threw one to the wolf who caught it in its mouth. The wolf bit down and the apple exploded in its mouth. A small snarl left its lips as it shook its head.

“What, too sour for you? That’s what you get for begging.” The woman said as she took a bite of her apple. She jumped down from the tree and landed quietly next to the wolf. “Let’s go,” was all she said as they resumed their brisk walk down the road.

The duo journeyed on for a few more hours until they came upon a small outpost. “Huh, where do you think we are, Kai?” The elf pulled a map from her bag as the wolf sat down beside her. “We passed that a couple of days ago…did we take a left there? Oh! Is that the farm we were at? Ok, I got it!” The wolf looked up at her. “Don’t look at me with that tone of voice! I’m not lost! We’re at the border to the Dyrwood.”

The gates to the outpost were open. As the ranger and her companion approached them, an old dwarf with ill-fitting armor and a spear twice his height hurried into the path. “You are approaching the Dyrwood border. State your business!” He said with as much authority as his nasally voice could manage.

The woman had crossed many borders in her travels, some by sea, others by shadow, many by charm. Few countries currently cared who was crossing the border, so long as the group wasn’t too large. She had practiced many reasons why she would cross the border: to hunt, to see a sickly grandmother, to pray at some almost forgotten shrine, and various other reasons. Her real reason for crossing was harder to describe. Each place she visited held new stories, people, and best of all, adventures! She had every reason to go where the road took her and no reason to stay put.

What did this guard want her to say she was coming here for? She read his body language, his scent, his eyes, and anything else that would tell her.

His eyes were bloodshot and he stunk. He had likely already started drinking for the night and she was in his way of more. He was eyeing the hunting bow strung over her back.

“We’re just here for new hunting grounds.” The woman finally said.

“Both of you?” The dwarf said eyeing Kai. “I hope your…pet won’t be a problem.”

“Oh, he won’t be any problem, will you, honey?” The elf said in a childish manner as she knelt down to the wolf’s height. The animal took her que and started happily licking her face.  
“Er, ok then.” The now uncomfortable dwarf said. “Be on your way. You may want to check in with Odema. He’s leading a caravan to a town called Gilded Vale. Should be pretty good hunting that way.”  
The elf smiled as she made her way past the guard. “Sounds like as good a plan as any.”  
After some asking around, she found the human she was looking for.  
“So, ya want to come along? All the free land and such?” Odema said, looking over his newest caravan member.  
“I just want to find a new adventure, but free land sounds good, too.”  
“You know how to use that thing on your back? I can’t have another ‘merchant’ I have to take care of.” He said gesturing to a man by a merchant’s cart who had an ale in his hand. He grimaced after each sip he took.  
In the blink of an eye, the hunting bow was in the elf’s hands. She produced an arrow from under her cloak and in one sweeping motion fired it off. The merchant’s glass shattered, drenching the shocked man in ale.  
Odema’s lips tightened. “I was hoping you were a ranger, not a showman.”  
“Bit of both, I’m afraid.” Said the humiliated elf.  
“She can hit something. That’s better than half the guards you have right now.” Came a woman’s voice. She as athletically built with short blond hair.  
“Fine, you’re right. Just no more stunts while you’re with me, got it?” Odema snarled. “So, what do I call ya?”  
“The name’s Echo.”


	2. An Echo through the Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Attachments are necessary for any long journey South; a bird within a flock has a better chance of reaching its goal than a lone dove. But the flock will mourn the passing of one of their own.  
> Kith are not unlike the birds of the sky. They must band together to survive the storms. But if they hold too tightly, the entire flock will tumble.

Odema’s caravan had been marching on for several days. They were well into the Dyrwood by now but still several days from civilization. The trek was slow for Echo, as traveling with carts and inexperienced pioneers took more time than just her and Kai running down the road.  
Since their departure from the border, Echo’s innards had been giving her fits. They felt as if they wanted to be out-ards and doubled their efforts each day to exit her body. This meant Echo had thrown up every meal since they began with increasing violence. The pain in her stomach and the threat of vomiting left Echo as poor company.  
As poor of conversation as Echo was inclined to make, the mere size and proximity of the caravan meant she had company regardless of her mood.  
Due to the rareness of such company, she somewhat enjoyed it. The blond guard she had originally met was named Calisca. She was pleasant…for a guard. The two of them had briefly hunted and walked together. They rarely talked, which was fine by Echo. Calisca’s mood could rarely be read, though, as her face always seemed to look tired and angry.  
Another of her close companions was a merchant by the name of Heodan. This man seemed to have endless questions for Echo. It must have been his first time on the road for as little as he knew. Echo may have been flattered by his endless curiosity about her had she not been agitated by his slow pace and the pains in her body.  
To ease the social and physical pains this man brought about, she tried to divert his attention to his own life. She could easily tune out his ramblings, but she paid enough attention to know he was from an Aedyrian merchant family, had siblings, and thought he could make his fortune in the Dyrwood. Unfortunately for her, this fool seemed to think that Echo could single handedly answer every question he had about living in the frontier.  
“What’s your wolf’s name? You and he seem inseparable.” The merchant just finished some story regarding a cat he grew up with and was now focusing on what he considered Echo’s pet, Kai.  
“His name is Kai and we are inseparable…that’s kind of how a ranger’s companion works.” Echo said as she side-eyed Heodan. A rare smirk could be seen on Calisca’s face as she walked past the slow moving cart.  
“I’ve never met a ranger before, much less their companion. So, are you two like a team? He helps’ you hunt?”  
“He’s no bird-dog if that’s what you’re getting at. He’s his own person, but we’re bonded. He understands me and I understand him. We hunt as a pair.” Anticipating his next questions, Echo added, “and we hunt ANYTHING. He charges it and I go for the kill shot.”  
“Sounds like you’re a pretty good team. But, what’s it mean for you to be ‘bonded?’”  
“It means that he’s no longer a normal wolf and I’m no longer a normal hunter. His soul is…attached, to mine, if that’s the right way to describe it. He can understand me, almost as well as you do, and I have full access to his mind: to see what he sees, hear what he hears, and know what he wants to do.”  
“That sounds awfully useful,” the merchant then lowered his voice, “but if you don’t mind me asking, what happens when he’s…you know…gone? He’s just a wolf, after all, and they don’t live as long as we do.”  
Echo sighed. She had to explain everything to this city boy. “That’s part of the bond. His life is connected to mine. He won’t die of old age, unless I do. He can still die from a wound, but his soul would still be bound to mine. I can release him from that bond if I choose; let him pass. But as long as my soul is here, his is too.”  
“So what does that mean for him if you died?” Kai barred his teeth at Heodan from Echo’s side.  
“It’d mean we’d both be gone if I didn’t release his soul. If I did release him, he could go on living.”  
“I see…this is a grim topic; do you mind if we change it?” The merchant seemed uncomfortable from having to face Berath.  
Seeing her opportunity, Echo seized it. “Actually, I think Odema needed me for…guard stuff.” She waved to Heodan as she started to jog towards the lead of the caravan.  
“Oh, yes, I’m sure. Bye then!” The defeated merchant called after.

At the lead caravan, Odema was considering where to bunk down for the night.  
“If we make it just four more hours, we’ll be out of the ruins and into the cover of the forest.” Calisca, his head guard, announced as though she were suggesting a battle strategy rather than a sleeping spot for merchants.  
“You think these wimps can make it four more hours?! They’ll be shivering in their knickers by the time the sun sets.” Odema retorted back in an unnecessary yell.  
“We’d only be traveling an hour after it sets. That’s not that far.” Calisca growled.  
“We’d still have to set up camp and feed everyone. The cook’s meals are barely decent when he can see himself cooking! Imagine what they’d be in the dark!” Echo was beginning Odema was only taught how to yell, not how to speak normally.  
As the two bickered about resting, Echo’s innards began to bicker with her. “Oh, not again.” She thought. Her swift feet managed to carry her to the edge of the road before her stomach could return its contents to her mouth.  
As Echo had her vomiting fit, Odema and Clalisca looked on in surprise.  
“Well, that settles it. We’re resting in the ruins within the hour. Can’t travel at night when I’m down a guard.” Odema said, for the first time, in a normal volume.  
“Fine.” Calisca didn’t offer any more protest.

As much as she hated it, Heodan was incredibly kind to Echo. He made her some tea to ease her pains and she rode in the back of his cart as they continued to where the caravan would rest.  
They young woman drifted off and dreamt of her mother’s sweet smile. Her father was there telling her to keep her elbow up and focus on her target. “You’re going to do great, dearest” the wood elf with her smile said as she awoke to the cart stopping.  
“Looks like we made it. You can stay in the cart while we set up camp, if you’d like.” Heodan said as he jumped up onto the back to grab a brush for the horse.  
“No, no, no, I should go and check in.” Echo said with a moan. Kai raised his head off of her lap as she got. She lept from Heodan’s cart ignoring his hand to help her. She had a feeling the man wouldn’t mind making a wife of her and she wasn’t about to let that happen. He could never keep up with her.  
Echo and Kai made their way to Odema who instructed them to find the herbs to help her.

Gathering with Calisca was refreshing. The two woman had an unspoken pact to not let expectations of what their conversations should look like guide them. For the most part, they signaled to each other with hand movements and nods. For Echo, it was refreshing to not be expected to speak. 

They were exploring the path North of camp when Calisca broke the pact. Echo didn’t feel like she was being berated about her past, more that Calisca was gently massaging Echo’s memories, looking for sore spots.   
“So, rumor has it you’re from the Deadfire? How’d you make it all the way to the Dyrwood?” The gruff woman asked. She appeared to be testing to see if Echo was a pirate, which was a reasonable enough expectation.   
“I mostly walked. Rode carts a few times.” Echo responded with a smile. The topic had an undercurrent of pain, like a deep bruise, that she hoped she was hiding.   
“Fair enough. What brought you down this far, though?” Calisca was trying to find the pain, but she had missed most of it.  
“Honestly, I just enjoy traveling. New people, new adventures, and it’s always good to move along before trouble finds you. Besides, my island was swept away in a storm.” Echo had found over the years that a statement seemed much more credible if it was preceded by “honestly”. This statement wasn’t all false, but Calisca didn’t need to know which parts.   
“What about you?” Echo used her favorite tactic of shifting the conversation to get the attention away from her; it worked.   
After discovering a newfound admiration for the mercenary, Echo and Calisca found the needed herb. While picking the sticky plant and preparing it, the conversation continued.   
“You don’t seem like the kind of person interested in free land. So what are you expecting in Gilded Vale?” The warrior asked, mentally prodding at another spot.   
“Oh, nothing really. Just a new adventure, I suppose.” Echo responded, side stepping the question but inevitable getting sticky sap on her hands.   
“Huh, not sure how much adventure you can find in that tiny village. Although I do have news from my sister that something may be happening.”   
“Like what?”   
“I don’t know, yet. But I plan to find out. She seems real worried. That’s the reason I’m here.” Echo found a sore spot and got a direct hit, it seemed.   
“Let’s find that water.” 

What happened next seemed to blur like reflections in the river. The fighting and pain blurred as one to Echo as she shot off arrow after arrow with decreasing accuracy due to her situation. The pain in her gut was only ebbed by the guilt she felt seeing Heodan in danger, a danger that shouldn’t have been a problem for her normally. She got the poor sod out of danger, but not without the glenfathen slashing him first. 

Then the gods themselves decided to add to the fun. 

The biawac swept into the camp like the champion of storms. Pain radiated through everyone's bodies as through they were being torn apart layer by layer. It was only thanks to Odema’s previous planning that Calisca, Echo, and the injured Heodan were able to climb the rock wall and escape to relative safety in the temple. 

The argument about whether to rest or not seemed like common sense to Echo, so she couldn’t understand Calisca’s paranoia. Kai would wake them to intruders, but Echo and Heodan needed rest to continue on with strength. The mercenary wouldn’t listen to Echo, though. She thought the archer was too soft on the useless merchant. Perhaps Echo was, but it was only because she felt guilty about his wounds. 

Heodan and Echo rested, while Calisca “stood watch”. After sleeping a few hours, the pair awoke to Calisca gone, having taken most of their supplies. Echo now had the duty of scouting for a way out of the temple all while calming the terrified merchant who was practically clinging to her back. 

When they finally found Calisca, the traps had gotten her first. Her body was a charred mess. All Echo felt for the dead mercenary was pity. Why had the brave woman been so stupid? Why had she been so frightened of robbers that she forgot to even look for traps? Perhaps not everyone had the benefit of the years on the road that Echo had. 

Leaving the temple should have been a relief, but Echo’s trouble had just begun. The ritual they witnessed seemed so strange, but the duo didn’t have time to contemplate what was going on.

In a bright flash, Echo fell to the ground, her head buzzing and ringing. Voices seemed to be speaking from all around her and lights that could be the shapes of people moved like purple dust on the wind before her shut eyes. Then the darkness came.

Echo awoke with no pain in her body, although she was sure she had been knocked unconscious. She felt Kai lick her hand. The wolf let out a small whimper as she turned her hand up to scratch his chin. Thank the gods he was alright. 

She sat up, holding her head. As the first whispers of his name left her lips, her eyes settled on what was left of Heodan. A wave of guilt and confusion swept over her. 

His body looked the same as when he was alive, but he laid on his back in a pool of blood. Echo must have been out for some time because his body was stiff. His eyes were still open with a look of terror across them. 

The archer shut his eyes out of respect and to keep them from seeing her shame. What had happened to him? She had tried so hard to keep him alive. How did she fail so miserably?   
Then she thought of the ritual and the strange machine. That must be it. 

She got up and took the pack from Heodan’s body. After carefully covering him with a grave of rocks, she made her way down to the strange machine. 

The visions returned. They looked like people who should be in front of her, but Echo couldn’t touch them. Was she seeing things? The elf had met enough mad men in her travels to know that this wasn’t good. The people appeared to be being tortured?! But where was this taking place? What was going on? 

On the little strength she had remaining, Echo set out for the nearest village, Gilded Vale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gauging the interest in this fic and whether I should work on this one or another one at the moment. If you've made it to this point, let me know if you want me to write the next chapter right away or if it can wait a bit!


End file.
